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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Incredible Versatility Of An Electric Herb Grinder

By Frank Morgan


These days you can find a kitchen appliance for almost anything. With so much choice, the challenge is not to spend your money on ones you will use only a few times before you let them gather dust on the shelf. One gadget that is a really good investment and that will pay for itself over and over again, however, is an electric herb grinder.

The appliance has sharp blades similar to a blender's and these turn at great speeds to chop up whatever you need to have a finer texture. To clean it, all you need to do is wipe the inside with a dishcloth or a paper towel after you've used it. An even greater benefit is that it will take you only a few seconds to grind something that would have taken you ages if you did it the old-fashioned way. Furthermore, it's one of the most versatile appliances you will ever own.

The obvious use for an herb grinder is to chop up herbs. For fresh herbs, you'll need to use the pulse mode so that you don't end up with a sticky paste. Dried herbs will become fine so that your cooking will be filled with flavor but without leafy green bits. Many people even use the appliance to chop up herbs for smoking, since a finer texture makes it easier to roll an herbal cigarette.

Buying spices that are already ground may be convenient but can also be wasteful, since spices quickly lose flavor once they're ground. If you buy whole spices instead, you only need to grind a little bit at a time, enough to meet the requirements of your recipe. Your stock of spices will last longer and you won't have to spend hours crushing them by hand.

It's not only for herbs and spices that can you will use the appliance. Use it to crush flax seeds for easier digestion or to grind small amounts of legumes, nuts or whole grains into flour. Turn cookies, breakfast cereals or stale bread into crumbs in a matter of seconds and use these to make a pie crust or a crispy coating.

A vastly superior cup of coffee is one made with freshly ground beans and your trusty grinder will help you with this. Use it also to turn ordinary sugar into powdered sugar so that you'll have the perfect confectionery to accompany your coffee. Furthermore, if you can only find a coarse version of your favorite salt, you can grind it at home until you get the texture you want.

You don't even have to use your grinder for food only. It can turn herbs or flowers with medicinal properties into a fine powder that you can add to homemade hygiene products such as deodorants or lip balms. For a natural and inexpensive tooth powder that will also give you fresh breath, grind some dried peppermint, cloves of anise together with baking soda.

For a special touch when you wrap gifts, add some paper confetti or sweet-smelling potpourri. You can make the confetti by grinding pieces of colorful paper. Potpourri will also get a wonderfully even texture if you grind the dried flower petals for a few seconds.




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